Ordinary People
by The Dream Weaver
Summary: Sometimes, ordinary people are asked to stand when no one else will, to fight when no one else can and to do more than others dared to hope. These people are known as heroes. This is their story. An original story with only minor tie-ins to the actual game.
1. Prologue

**Ordinary People**

**By: **The DreamWeaver

**Summary: **Sometimes, ordinary people are asked to stand when no one else will, to fight when no one else can and to do more than others dared to hope. These people are known as heroes. This is their story.

**Span:** Mass Effect 3

**Disclaimer: **Welcome, dear Reader, to a tale woven for you by the DreamWeaver. This fiction has been spun for you all to enjoy and the DreamWeaver hopes that the story that follows will please you. Remember, love comes in the most unexpected places and happiness can be found where ever you go. Remember, the DreamWeaver works within and around existing legends and the characters in this dream do not belong to the DreamWeaver. The DreamWeaver wishes not to infringe upon the rights of those whom they do belong to. Please enjoy.

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Not everyone can be the galaxy's greatest badass, uniting a dozen civilizations after solving centuries old conflicts and leading the largest assault on the fiercest enemy. Not everyone can be the ultimate savior of the galaxy, plunging fearlessly into a hopeless battle against an unknowably large force with only hope and prayers. Not everyone can step up to the despairingly lonely role of leadership, unflinching as the world crumbles down around their ears. Not everyone can bear the enormous burden of risking their all, potentially making the ultimate sacrifice, to try and defeat an unstoppable fighting force the likes of which no one still living had ever seen, without cracking.

But, sometimes, ordinary people are called upon to achieve a greatness far reaching what they ever dreamed possible. The unknown, the untrained, the unimaginable, are called into action to stand against their worst nightmares, to pit their wits and their strength of will to survive against insurmountable odds. Sometimes, ordinary people are asked to stand when no one else will, to fight when no one else can and to do more than others dared to hope. And sometimes, ordinary people, when faced with an inevitable destruction, find an extraordinary strength and power within themselves that they didn't even know they had. These people are known as heroes. This is their story.

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Welcome, dear Reader. Do enter but beware, read on only if you dare.


	2. The End of the Beginning

**Chapter 1 –** The End of the Beginning

**Note – **Welcome, gentle Readers, to a new dream spun for you by the DreamWeaver. Please remember that the DreamWeaver works within and without existing legends and seeks not to infringe on the rights of those whom this world belongs to.

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Saturday, April 14th 2186. Dallas, Texas, United North American States.

It was the perfect day. Clouds had rolled in, light gray and rainless, in the early morning, masking the sun's bright rays and dimming the day into something more bearable than the usual Texas summer heat. A stiff breeze off the shores of Lake Dallas whisked away the heavy sense of humidity, keeping the air from stagnating beneath the oppressive layer of clouds. The neatly groomed trees lining the sidewalks rustled in the wind, the creak of branches adding a layer of texture to the high-pitched whine of passing vehicles as they sped through the busy streets. The temperature was in the lower seventies, but the possible threat of rain made it a perfect day to stay indoors and not risk a sudden Texan downpour. It was absolutely the perfect day.

For a convention.

The Dallas Metropolis Convention Center was packed to the gills that fine Saturday afternoon, thousands of geeks and nerds from all corners of the great state of Texas had flocked to the 50th annual science fiction and fantasy convention known, affectionately, as HeroCon. The hallways of this enormous stadium-sized building were flooded with enthusiastic convention goers alike, traversing the maze-like passages from Dealer Room to Main Convention Floor to the gaming rooms. Hundreds of panels were being run by some of the top artists, designers and writers of the age, attendance filling room capacities to the brim with fanatics, enthusiasts and newcomers. Trades were being made on the convention floor for goods, collectibles and art, thousands of voices swirling into a cacophony of nerddom brought to life.

And then, there were the cosplayers.

Costumed convention goers ranging from small infants to elderly adults swanned about the show room floors, clad in clothing from their favorite geekdoms spanning the centuries. A myriad of the impressive, the pathetic and the just plain bizarre ran the gamut of costumes worn by these avid nerds. Nothing was taboo, from the extremely elaborate and impressive layers of fantastical armor born of a fantasy series, to the scantily clad, barely there school girl uniforms of a Japanese hentai, the cosplayers held no belief in shame. Standing alone amidst a sea of fangirls or ranging in impressive group displays that accurately reflected the dynamics of classic science fiction films, cosplayers paraded up and down the hallways like they were the star attraction of the show.

Well, not all of them.

A group of photographers and fascinated onlookers had converged in a corner of the central convention lobby, bathing the nearby stairwell in an orange glow from the sheer number of exposed omni-tools. Bright flashes from every which way gave the impression of a very confused thunderstorm, unaware that it should be passing on and instead keeps throwing strikes of lightning at random targets. Above the insectoid chatter of clicking cameras, excited fangirl squeals echoed in the three story lobby room and the playful nudges of male onlookers added a colorful ambiance to the ears of those that were being held prisoner in their poses.

Just beyond the semi-circle of omni-tools stood a trio of cosplayers, clad in some of the most iconic costumes of the previous millennia. Flanking a small female, two dark haired young men stood tall with their bodies canted toward each other. The one on the right stood clad from neck to toe in black, nothing unremarkable except for the brown robe that enveloped his frame and the metallic handle of a sword between his palms, the blade casting a contrasting green glow against the orange omni-tools.

Opposite him stood his companion, tall with bright blue eyes sparkling mischievously above a roguish grin. One hand pointed down the crowd with a black and silver metallic pistol, the opposing hand planted almost possessively on the small of the back of the female. His non-descript black boots gave way to trousers striped with white, which opened into a low slung weapon holster. The white shirt was tucked in almost haphazardly while a black vest layered neatly over the top. He looked like a science fiction styled old-West gunslinger.

And between them stood the ultimate icon from their portrayed movie, slender and lithe in gold and scarlet. Long ebony black hair was brushed and pinned neatly back from large emerald eyes, sleekly tied into a single braid that hung against her backside. Small hips were swathed in gold metallic pieces, draping lengths of red silk to her ankles in both the front and back. The length of abdomen to the beginning of her chest was bare, interrupted by yet more gold in the fashion of a bikini top, ending at the throat in a large golden resin collar. Despite the fact their chosen cosplay was almost two and a half centuries old, the trilogy of films aptly named Star Wars, still remained a cult classic, remarkable in its simplicity and stunning portrayal of interactions of galactic races beyond humanity.

The youngest of the assembled Star Wars enthusiasts, clocking in at just three weeks shy of her eighteenth birthday, was Aurelia Robbins. Shifting her weight to her other foot, she cocked her hip jauntily and angled her slender frame toward her black-clad brother. Drawing her hand up to rest a metallic blaster against her shoulder, she drew her lips into a sultry smile and stared into the flashing camera lights. She could feel giddy laughter bubbling up from the depths of her chest and she strove to tamp it down so she could stay in character. This was a brilliant idea…

"This was the best idea ever, Or." Her older brother, twenty year old Aiden Robbins, echoed her thoughts out of the corner of his mouth as he struggled to maintain stoicism as a proper Jedi Knight.

"I knew no one else was going to do this. Who would still be wearing something two centuries old?" Tall Nicholai Rosenoff, Aiden's slightly younger best friend, replied with a smothered laugh. "Thank god your sister's an amazing seamstress."

"Pfft, we should be thankful it's almost my birthday so Mom and Dad would foot the bill for the weekend passes." Aurelia snickered back as a new wave of flashes started when new convention goers passed through the front doors beyond the ticket booths and caught sight of the trio. Aurelia could feel her knees starting to ache from standing on the hard floor in a thin layer of rubber sole that made up her iconic boots and her face was almost numb from smiling for the past half hour at the camera. She rolled her shoulders back, trying to ease some of the strain on her back from the awkward positions they had been posing in since they got inside the door. Finally, her patience wore out.

"Alright folks, thank you so much for your fascination!" Aurelia shouted over the din as she threw her hands up in a cease and desist motion. "We will be taking a fifteen minute break to get some water and stretch, then we'll be back for more poses and we'll be happy to take pictures with the crowd."

There was a collective groan from the assembled onlookers that they hadn't quite gotten their fill of the enigmatic group, but Nick joined in her decision to take a small break by holstering his weapon and backing up a step to plant his butt firmly on the marble floor below him. Aiden followed suit by turning off the batteries of his cleverly engineered by Nick lightsaber and plopping onto the ground next to his best friend. If there was anything Nick could do, Aurelia mused as she looked at the green bladed weapon, it was electronics. That man loved to tinker with anything that had wires and a circuit board and could spend hours taking apart Aurelia's desk terminal and putting it back together while she played N7: Code of Honor with Aiden.

Glancing fondly toward her older brother as he looked up at her with an impish grin, she parted her lips to tell him something. But whatever phrase or endearment she was about to deliver to her sibling, the moment was lost forever when a high pitched shriek ripped decibels above the happy chatter of the crowd. The noise echoed off buildings, rebounding off stone and metal until her head fairly vibrated with the sound and she ducked to cover her ears with her hands. Suddenly, Nick and Aiden flew off the ground as they dove at her still standing frame and the world exploded into terror and chaos.

Aurelia hit the ground underneath the collective embrace of her brother and friend as the deafening roar of an explosion slammed into her ear drums. All around her glass shattered and the ground rolled ominously beneath her back. People screamed from fear and feet went running as a bright, red, wicked looking light flashed near the convention center and another loud BOOM sounded, rolling the ground like the angry stomping of a wronged giant. The stench of burning something and melted plastic was suddenly thick and acrid in the air around them.

Across the street from them, a building shattered as though it had been made of glass instead of metal and stone. Debris crumbled into the face of the convention center, scattering rocks and dust like the dribbling of fairy glitter from a vial. Papers fell like a shower of large white flakes of snow and ash whispered through the air so like the pollen of a blown dandelion head. Cars were sent screeching onto sidewalks and slamming face first into walls that had been erected to protect those within from those without. The downfall of a single building brought devastation of proportions that hadn't been seen in Dallas for decades. And beyond it, madness lie.

Ripping her head up from where her face was being held pressed against her brother's chest, she tipped her chin back until she was able to look out beyond the shattered panes of windows.

And there she saw amongst the clouds the descending body of dead C'thulu who lies dreaming in his house at R'lyeh.

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The DreamWeaver hopes that this part of a dream has pleased you, dear Reader, and, if it has, perhaps you will honor the DreamWeaver with a review.

May your dreams guide you on the pathway to the joys of tomorrow.


	3. World's End

**Chapter 2 –** World's End

**Note – **The DreamWeaver would like to extend sincerest appreciation to thegmefreek for their kindness in beta reading this dream. The DreamWeaver is grateful.

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"What… the fuck… is that…?" Aurelia heard the ragged sound of Nick's voice near her shoulder but she couldn't find it in herself to tear her eyes away.

As the Lovecraftian horror slowly descended from the clouds, long tentacles reaching through the puffs of black smoke with languid, lithe motions, panic sounded. The screams of the terrified mingled with the groans of the injured and the slaps of running feet. Costumed and uncostumed convention goers alike began to run like frightened deer, scrambling in every which way to get somewhere other than _here. _A loud noise sounded from the creature, a deep bugling horn that reverberated in Aurelia's skull as it echoed off the chaos and destruction around them.

The pressure of the weight of their combined bodies atop her eased as Nick rolled to the side to cover his ears with his hands, groaning slightly. As they were in a relative corner, some place most of the panicking convention goers didn't want to be, they were being left untrampled by the stampeding civilians. Aiden drew himself off her, hauling his legs underneath him until he was upright in a crouch next to his sister. Aurelia rolled onto her stomach and was getting herself into a kneeling position when she froze as a sudden memory rolled into her mind.

Tentacles. Sky. Ship. Sovereign. REAPERS!

"Aiden! Aiden, do you remember three years ago? When that geth ship attacked the Citadel?" Aurelia suddenly chimed as Nick climbed to his feet next to her.

"Yeah, it was all over the extra-net." The older boy came back.

"Commander Shepard said it was Reapers." Nick added thoughtfully.

Her point already made, she slammed her hand forward with an index finger extended at the creature. "What the hell does that look like?"

The two boys are silent for a moment as they followed the line of her arm to the point of her finger to the Old God as it eased down from the sky to hover against the clouds. And then, their jaws dropped open which Aurelia took for realization.

"Oh god… it's the end of the world…"

)(

Fear was rising swiftly in Nick's throat as he stared at the blackening sky, filled with horrors beyond his wildest nightmares, and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Next to him, he could see the same emotions broiling through the siblings as he took in their paled features and ever wider growing emerald eyes. This… This wasn't happening… This wasn't supposed to happen… Parliament decried Shepard's accusations of Reapers, stating it was an isolated incident related to the geth. The Galactic Council had decreed that there were no such thing as Reapers, that Sovereign had been a geth ship used by the former Spectre, Saren.

"Guess the Council was wrong…" he heard Aiden mutter darkly across from him as they watched the sky fill with red light. Police cruisers were taking to the skies, racing to stop the incoming ships from further destruction of their homes and the oily black machines were firing back. Nick's jaw tightened as he watched the sky battle open with several cruises abruptly bursting into flames and traveling back in the opposite direction as they crashed.

"Come on," Aurelia's voice called him back out of the clouds. "We've watched enough apocalypse vids to know that if we had no warning, they've probably taken out all the communications satellites. Chances of us calling Mom and Dad are slim. We need to head home to link up with them."

"Yeah, plus we don't want to stay in one place too long. Second rule of zombie survival games, always keep moving." Aiden agreed and Nick was suddenly grateful that he was spending the day the world ended with two video game nerds. If anyone had gone through this scenario enough times in their head, it would be these two. They probably had contingency plans coming out of their ears, seeing as how they owned and could quote every single survival and apocalypse vid ever made for the last three centuries. It's good to have geeks on your side.

He moved with the siblings toward their bags that had been left carelessly in the corner while they were taking pictures, but movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned abruptly. Fire was raining down from the sky around the monstrosities backed against the clouds and he stopped to marvel at it. He wondered, for the briefest of moments, if it was debris from destroyed satellites or if there was really a space battle going on above them.

And then a flaming ball flashed onto the ground in front of him and the moment was completely and utterly destroyed.

The flames vanished within seconds of touchdown, revealing a standing humanoid form! Nick stumbled back with a cry that alerted Aiden and Aura as the red cleared from his vision and left the pale, washed out frame of an unclothed human. The siblings jolted upright as the thing turned toward him and they all gasped.

The center of mass on the creature looked as though it had been ripped out and replaced a network of glowing blue tubes. For a split second, he was reminded of a very old comic book character that had a similar glowing blue circle set into his chest… But then the memory was gone as the creature opened its mouth to reveal blackened teeth and released an unearthly moan that sent the hairs on the back of his neck into immediate attention. Oh. No. No. Fuck. Zombies. From space. Space zombies. Fuck, no. Fuck this. No fucking way.

"This… can't be real…" Aiden breathed before a flash of ebony black hair caught both of their attention and they were startled out of their reverie as Aurelia suddenly dropped into a sprint.

"Aura!" Nick found himself crying out as the dark haired girl charged forward, _straight at the thing! _His call for her name didn't seem to check the girl's steps as she raced toward it, red skirt flying behind her like a flag. And then, a flash of white and blonde caught his attention and he realized what Aura's ultimate goal was. Standing not more than five feet in front of the zombie was the waist-high form of a small girl. No more than three or four years of age, she was paralyzed with fear at the sight of the creature in front of her and tears of terror were rolling down her cheeks.

"Down!" His body reacted before his mind got a chance to catch up, his voice echoing of its own accord in the chaos of the room. His arms rocked backwards in a massive scooping motion as he took the mental plunge into the depths of his calm center. He released the strangle hold of control he had over his innate abilities and came back up, blue eyes filled with the glow of energy as he threw his hands forward. Though before they were empty, now they were filled with blue energy that crackled and hummed as it crawled up his arms and shot from his hands. The creation of the mass effect field was swift and honed into a single purpose as he fired it at the monster.

Aura, never one to miss a cue, had canted both her legs forward at his exclamation, dropping onto her hip with her ankle cocked just right that she executed a perfect homeplate slide the last eight feet to the small child. He saw her twisting her body as she skidded to a halt level with the child, her feet scrabbling for purchase on the slick floors as she wrapped her arm around the girl's waist. The mass effect field blasted right over the tops of their heads, blasting the creature backwards as Aura scrambled onto her feet with the child in her arm.

"Go!" she shouted as she came upright and she and the child started to run back toward them. The biotic male's powers crackled and hissed over his arms as he tore his gaze from Aura's face just as more fireballs flared up on the street beyond him. Oh hell…

"No! Stop! Don't go that way!" Aiden was suddenly shouting, waving his arms as he caught sight of a group of people that were racing directly at the monsters that were appearing in the street all around them. Several of them slowed their panicked run at the sound of his voice, but others were charging straight into danger as a bigger fireball impacted on the ground so hard that it rolled under Nick's feet. He found himself swearing quietly as he grabbed the little girl from Aura and tuned his biotics up to flatten his hands against an invisible wall before the energy solidified into a crackling blue barrier.

"Go stop them, I've got her." He told her and watched her eyes change abruptly. They had held a terrified gleam on unshed tears until he spoke and she looked up at him for a moment. When she turned away to race toward the sheeple racing directly into their doom, they were filled with a determination he knew all too well from her video game days. Fear wasn't about to stop her now as her left hand came up to touch the wrist bracelet of her omni-tool.

)(

A blissful numbness filled Aura as she turned away from Nick, her gamer's instincts kicking in to calm her jittering nerves just before she took on an epic boss battle. The adrenaline of the fight raced through her veins like a searing flame and burned away all traces of anxiety and fear as her feet kicked up. This was just a game, a wild game, and soon she'd beat the boss and reality would resume around her. She just had to stay focused and she would make it through this section and they'd score an awesome cutscene. She just had to stay calm.

She tagged Aiden's shoulder as she ran past him, aiming for the fleeing civilians as more of those zombies turned toward them. "Come on! We have to stop them!"

Aiden's gamer drive must have kicked on too, his mind refusing to accept that this was real, because he didn't hesitate to follow his sister's lead. The siblings took off across the lobby, feet crunching broken glass and legs leaping nimbly over chunks of broken debris that had scattered across the marble floors when the building across came down. The zombies were moaning their horrific zombie sound and people were screaming, their race for freedom suddenly being met with opposition as they recoiled at the sight of the creatures.

Aiden diverted for the head of the crowd, racing to head them off from getting any closer to the Reaper zombies while Aura's course stayed clear on. A zombie's arms were reaching toward a girl who had been at the head of the group and she was on a collision course with him… it… Aura's feet carried her straight and true at the creature, her world narrowing to the view of the zombie as everything else dropped away into nothing.

Suddenly, she swung her arm backwards. The omni-tool flashed as its holographic interface pulled itself together along the length of her arm to her elbow. The orange glow shuddered and twisted as a program cued to that specific movement suddenly kicked to life and the omni-tool made an abrupt reform. Aura's booted foot planted on the firm surface of a fallen hunk of debris, her leg muscles bunching before she launched a precision leap into the air as a blade formed over the top of her omni-tool. For a second, the world slowed and she hung in the air with effortless ease, it was something out of a vid!

And then the world reeled back into action and she slammed the blade straight into the eye socket of the zombie with her full weight coming down into its body. There was a terrifying moment where it looked like her inertia was going to carry her head over heels into the ground, but her feet seemed to find sure footing as the creature crumbled to the ground below her. The blade retracted back into the interface of the omni-tool and her focus widened again.

"… Back to the barrier, hurry!" Aiden's voice was yelling as he was herding the group off to the right from the way they just came, back towards Nick and the little girl.

"OR! Behind you!" That momentary battle was won but the fight, it seemed, was far from over.

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The DreamWeaver hopes that this part of a dream has pleased you, dear Reader, and, if it has, perhaps you will honor the DreamWeaver with a review.

May your dreams guide you on the pathway to the joys of tomorrow.


	4. Lie Down and Die

**Chapter 3 –** Lie Down and Die

**Note – **The DreamWeaver would like to note in case there is any confusion for you, beloved Readers, that there are no actual zombies in this dream. The main characters are not yet aware that the "zombies" are actually Reaper husks, as there has been no classification made available to civilians at this time. So, please pardon the gratuitous zombie references, dear Readers, as the name clarification will resolve itself in due course.

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Nick's shout across the chaotic lobby area forced Aiden's head to pop up. His running footsteps had been carrying him alongside the group of patrons that they had just rerouted from certain doom, placing his body between their collective movements. In so doing, he had lost sight of Aura as she took out the zombie with a precision slam of her omni-tooled fist. Last he had seen her, she had activated the omni-blade program Nick had discovered almost a month ago, having been piggybacked onto another program that he was messing around with, and was utilizing it in her attack.

There was no fear on her face, he recalled in that moment. He had always admired that in his little sister. She was well and truly fearless and it had never been part of her makeup to retreat when there was a chance she could press onward. Which was why the bullies never gave her any guff at school, he mused. She was tough as old boots, that one. Mom called her "Churchill in a dress" often and affectionately.

But then she turned and if she wasn't feeling any fear, he certainly was for her.

Standing behind her was the most horrific looking creature he had ever laid eyes on, including the zombies he had just been staring down not seconds before. It looked like someone had taken a turian and tried to perform a really bad rendition of a bizarre android movie series starring that one actor that later governed California or something like that… The armor had been twisted and tangled until it vaguely resembled a cage… better yet, a human rib cage. Wires and tubes crawled in and out of its armor, latching into strange ports in what was left of its flesh. And its eyes were replaced by glowing blue flashlights, similar to those of the zombies that were starting to appear around it.

And the worst part of it all? It was holding an assault rifle in its claws.

"AURELIA!" he heard himself scream at the top of his lungs as he changed direction abruptly. Of course, Nick was already ahead of him on the action process. He could see the flash of Nick's hand as he moved into his smooth, practice mnemonic motions before he was focused on getting to his sister before the monster could pull the trigger. Blue energy shot past his shoulder to blast the creature backwards, splattering into its chest with a precision that probably scared Nick and it staggered several steps back with its arms splayed wide.

"Come ON! I can't be the only biotic here!" Nick shouted behind him as he crossed the lobby and charged down onto the steps again. Then, his focus kicked on and his mind locked the situation down abruptly. Outside concerns no longer became important, exterior issues vanished. Adrenaline surged through his veins and fear was eaten alive by determination. He had never mastered his sister's deadly calm, but he could come close as his vision narrowed. His sister. The monster. Nothing else.

Then Aura's body moved. She had always been graceful; Mom had put her in ballet when she was six years old because of how smooth her movements were. She never excelled as a ballerina, but she could certainly dance all those years after. But now, her movements flowed like water as she feinted to the right and then ducked low. She charged the two steps between her and the turian wannabe and there was that flash of orange light that announced the return of the omni-blade. _That's my girl. _He thought as she slammed the blade upwards between the creature's ribs, the holographic interface kicking on the miniature mass effect drives that triggered the hologram to become temporarily solid, just long enough to do some serious damage.

On either side of his frame, blue streaks of dark energy shot past him at incredible speeds and struck the imposing monster on either shoulder. The warp effects shredded its armor, ripping it apart with the rending shriek of metal being torn asunder. Looks like Nick was able to another pair of biotics to step up and defend the girl who had just saved all their lives. And then, his turn came.

Charging full speed across the rubble strewn ground, he tapped the bracelet on his right wrist firmly just as Aura had done moments prior. His hand rocked back like Nick's mnemonics, but he merely activated the mass effect field triggers in the hologram tool's processors. The blade extended and Aiden raised his fist and slammed bodily into the monstrous creature. The force of his speeding frame coupled with the power behind his strike and the wrenched open armor caused the blade to punch straight through the creature's chest to the other side. Its sudden loss of life caused it to crumple and with no more resistance both it and he went to the ground. Tucking his shoulder and head into the creature's, Aiden executed a neat roll over the top of the thing's arm and tumble squarely onto his butt behind it.

)(

"Aiden!" Aura exclaimed as her brother went flying into the creature. Well, flying _over _it was slightly more accurate as his omni-tool disengaged in midair and he was found sitting perfectly still on his butt just beyond its sprawled body. Fortunately, the boy looked up at the cry of his name and he glanced over his shoulder at her, relief gaining only a split second to rocket through her like the flash of hot air after being out in the snow all day. Unfortunately, every other creature that had just arrived on the street also heard her call for her sibling. And they were all turning to converge on her now that they had her voice in their grasp.

This day just kept getting better and better.

And then, it actually did. Looking down for a rock to throw, something big enough to maybe bludgeon one from a distance, Aura caught sight of the most fascinating and hope giving piece of equipment. Lying at her feet, where it had fallen after the death of the strange turian crossbreed was the assault rifle it had been carrying up until its demise. She wasn't sure what type of rifle it was, maybe a Vindicator or a Phaeston, but now wasn't the time to quibble. If anything, maybe she was lucky enough that it didn't have too much kick and she could appropriately fire it without being ungracefully seated.

And honestly? Now wasn't the time to argue over the legality of firing an assault rifle in the city limits and that she was under the legal age to operate a weapon, nor the technicality that she had never fired one before. In fact, now wasn't even the time to contemplate it, as half a dozen zombies were now making their ungainly way toward her and her brother with their arms outstretched and, honestly, she didn't feel like becoming a zombie today. Today just… didn't feel like her day to die. Her body bent abruptly and she scooped the weapon off the ground without a second thought about it. How hard could it be, anyway?

The weapon moved into her body with ease, a sudden strange comfort falling over her as she moved the stock into the pocket of her shoulder. It was like she had been carrying one of these all her life, that she had never known a time where she wasn't raising one to her eye. Her left hand cupped the length of the barrel along the handguard, while the right curled around the pistol grip with what could have been described as practiced ease. Her head tipped lightly to the side as she looked down the length of the barrel. And then she breathed out and pulled the trigger.

The kickback of the weapon was surprisingly lacking, though she was certain her shoulder would still be sore in the morning. She held true in her position, laying down a suppressive spray of fire at three of the closest zombies and was quite surprised when the release of explosions found their mark without difficulty. All three creatures were mowed down in midstride, their momentum still carrying after their bodies hit the ground and they slid a short distance to a stop.

But there was no time now to contemplate the fact that she had just fired a gun and killed someone… or something, for that matter. Because the big turian baddy's twin brother had just straightened up a short distance up the street and opened fire in retaliation for her offensive against the zombies.

"Cover!" she shouted to both herself and her older brother as she turned on her toes, charged four steps and dove behind a large piece of destroyed building to hide from the onslaught of bullets. She glanced up from her prone position just in time to see Aiden scramble into a similar location, tucked behind a planter box that had been filled with beautiful flowers until the building was brought down on it. She heard Nick shouting beyond them, but her ears were ringing a little from the noise of the assault rifle and she couldn't make out exactly what was being said.

However, whatever was going on beyond them was enough to remove the remaining zombies from the equation. When she came to her knees behind the block to see what was going on, there were no more running zombies, only the advancing proto-turian and its weapon, which the biotics were now trying to take down collectively. It was Nick and two adults, male and female, who were holding up a barrier with one hand and lobbing warp blasts of dark energy with the other from their carefully shielded position. A shield that wouldn't last forever, judging by the look on Nick's exhausted face. Time to end this.

Aura burst out of cover, coming to a full standing position with the assault rifle already held at the ready. She drew it up to her face and abruptly opened fire, snapping the trigger in consecutive short bursts of seven or so rounds at a time. Despite the invention of thermal clips, which prevented a significant amount of heat warping on the barrels, she didn't want to risk damaging the weapon and having it do something really bad like blow up in her face. She needed that face if they were ever going to see Mom and Dad again.

Something Aura didn't bank on was the fact that she could be so accurate with a weapon, particularly since she had never held nor fired one before this moment. Yet somehow, with the precision of a frickin' surgeon, she blasted a line of bullets directly across the beast's torso, effectively ripping the upper portion of its body clean off. A final barrage of bullets, ill placed and ill timed, came flying in her general direction but she had already tucked herself down behind the block so that they smattered against the wall behind her before all was completely still. Well, at least in their area.

"Aiden! Aura! Are you alright?" Nick's voice suddenly shot over the top of them, causing the siblings to pop their heads over the top of their covered positions. Nick was standing with the other two biotics, a group of adults and children huddled together behind them looking terrified and on the verge of tears. Some of the children were actually crying, which tugged at Aura's heart strings.

"Yeah, yeah we're alright!" Aiden called back.

)(

Relief shot through Nick as both of their black-haired heads came up over the edges of concrete blocks and his knees wobbled a little. They came out of cover slowly; Aiden covered in dust and dirt as he ran his fingers through his hair, Aura looked like a warrior-goddess in her Princess Leia costume with an assault rifle in her hands. Where she had learned to shoot that damn thing anyway? They had never mentioned going to a shooting range, besides they would have invited him along if they had. He was practically their parents' third child with the way he attended every little function that they participated in.

"Thank god, what the hell was that?" The siblings looked relatively unscathed from their run-in with the strange creatures. Aura's leg had gotten a good scraping while she was saving the little girl clinging to his leg, but the wound had already scabbed over and the blood was drying into flakes down the length of her skin.

"Yeah, where did you learn to shoot?" Aiden agreed with his best friend, looking pointedly at his sister as Nick and his leg attachment came out of the convention center to approach them. Behind him, the rest of the group started shuffling forward, looking at the three young people who had just saved all of their lives in a mixture of astonishment and gratitude.

"I… I don't know…" Aura replied sheepishly as she shifted the weapon in her hands. "I just…"

Nick watched her look up into the sky, a frown crinkling her dark brown as they drew around her gem-like eyes. He followed her gaze up to the explosions going on overhead, the Reaper ship dangling from the sky ominously.

Then she looked down, her gaze piercing straight into his own, shooting right to the very core of his soul. This time, her voice rose to carry across to the lobby.

"I just decided that today isn't my day to die. I decided that if this really is the Reapers, whatever the Council may have said, that I'm not going to just… lie down and die for them. If they want to come in here and destroy my home and kill my friends and family, I sure as hell am not going to make it easy for them. I'm not going to just throw down my life and give them the satisfaction of seeing me give up. I'm going to stand up and I'm going to do something about it. And if that means picking up a gun and shooting things until they go away, then damn it that's what I'm going to do. And after what we just accomplished, I'm not going to just give up now."

A spike of pure admiration shot through his body as he looked at the young woman standing in front of him. She stood straight and proud, her shoulders back and her head held high. Her right hand found the safety unerringly on the weapon in her hands and she clicked it into place, forcing Nick to swallow hard. He had seen that look in her eyes before, that solid wall of determination to accomplish whatever goal she had just set into her mind. She was going to see this, whatever this was, through until the very end.

"You know what? Me neither. I'm not ready to die, not like this. Come on, if we stick together, we can get the hell out of here. Let's do this." Aiden suddenly piped up, his lips slowly spreading in a roguish grin, and startling Nick. True, Aiden usually did go along with his sister's schemes… But he had never taken him for the "all or nothing" type, if anything he always left himself a way out. He had to, all the trouble he usually got into with the hellion he had for a sister. The older boy turned and stalked off to where that dead turian-thing was still sprawled on the ground.

"What about you?" Aura's voice called his attention back to her, softer and less strident than before. He looked down into her sparkling emerald eyes, one brow cocked higher than the other as she appeared to be waiting for his response. Well, like he had thought before, if anyone was going to survive a zombie… or a Reaper invasion for that matter, it was going to be these two. Besides, he had never doubted their abilities before; he wasn't going to let them start doubting his loyalty now.

"Yeah," he murmured. "Yeah, I'm in."

* * *

The DreamWeaver hopes that this part of a dream has pleased you, dear Reader, and, if it has, perhaps you will honor the DreamWeaver with a review.

May your dreams guide you on the pathway to the joys of tomorrow.


	5. Rules of the Game

**Chapter 4 –** Rules of the Game

**Note – **The DreamWeaver would like to extend another hand of appreciation to thegmefreek for continued beta reading. You are appreciated.

* * *

Aurelia felt a smile growing across her lips as she stared up into the bright blue eyes above her. A tension she didn't even know she was experiencing suddenly eased at Nicholai's confirmation that he would be going with them on whatever wild adventure was about to be placed at her feet. They were the Three Musketeers, had been since Aiden had found that stupid vid when they were children. Though he had never been a gamer like the brother and sister, they had both been born to a pair of gamer parents and therefore had been introduced to the world of geeky pursuits while still in diapers, he still tagged along with them and learned to love their bizarre hobbies. He was as much a part of their team as they were, so she felt grateful that he wasn't abandoning them yet.

"Okay, then what's the plan?" He said to break the long pause that formed between them as Aiden came trotting back toward them with his own assault rifle and half a dozen additional thermal clips in his free hand.

"We should make for some place more fortified than this, preferably some place with people who know what they're doing and what's going on. Army base is best, but we could also try a police station." Aiden replied as he rejoined their small group, she nodding in agreement. He was always a sound strategist and she could never beat him in any of their civilization simulation games.

"Good idea. I think there's a police station about three blocks over from here; I saw it on the train on the way in." Nick agreed as well.

"Good, let's go get our…" Aura paused as she remembered the group of people that had been huddling behind barriers against the back wall. Raising her head to look up and over Nick's shoulder, she caught the gaze of the two biotics who were standing protectively in front of the small knot. Their eyes were frightened but also admiration and determination warred within. "What about them?"

Nick and Aiden both brought their heads up to look back at the collection of lives they had just saved.

"We're coming with you." One of the men standing in the front of the group, holding a woman and a small child in his arms as if to shield them from the teens' denial, spoke up. His gaze stared down at them firmly, as if he was going to broker no argument despite the fact that the teens were the ones wielding the weaponry.

Nick made to object, but Aiden cut him off. "No, first rule of survival video games: always stick together. Besides, we've got the guns. They come with us. Aura, go check that guy for more clips, I'll get the bags."

It was a sound plan and Aura couldn't disagree with her brother, he was right about the rules. Splitting off into two groups made another target and less defense. If they could stick together, they had a better chance of getting to the police station alive. And there was potentially a radio there that they could find out about their parents. Aiden broke off to go get the bags while Aura turned toward the group, wondering just how bizarre she looked to them in a costume and weapon with blood drying on her shin.

"Alright, we move in two minutes. Stay in a tight group, children in the very middle. Biotics stay to the rear; you can be our eyes as well as our rear guard. We'll lead the way; we're heading up to the police station a few blocks from here. Stay close and stay tight, don't stop moving for anything until we get there. Eat something while you can." She instructed as she took cues from Code of Honor, when she was given instructions before the tutorial of the game began. Then she turned to go check on that turian-thing.

)(

Nick shook his head quietly as she hurried off to go look for thermal clips. Tiny Aurelia Robbins making speeches like the Galactic Council during Commander Shepard's Spectre induction ceremony, he pondered as he watched her go. He was going to talk to Aiden about getting her away from the RPGs when this was all over with. But, whatever it was that she was channeling at this point, it was certainly helping. Their sheeple were starting to collect themselves, several of the adults were hunting for weaponry out of things around them and the biotics were eating energy bars to prepare for the move ahead.

Right on cue, Aiden appeared at his side with their three backpacks. The bags were mostly empty, having been brought along to fill up with whatever treasures they acquired from the Dealer's Room and the autographs they had wanted to bring home. Being a biotic with a substantially higher metabolism than most people, Nick had wisely packed several energy bars himself for just-in-case purposes. Little did he know that he was going to need them to keep moving through the fight of their lives.

"Hey man," Aiden spoke quietly as he offered his bag to him, calling Nick's attention back from his recollections. "You okay?"

Nick glanced down at his feet before starting to dig into his bag. "Yeah… Little shaken up… I mean, what the hell is all this? Reapers, really?"

"I don't know man; I'm a little freaked out myself. I thought we had this state of the art defense system and everything." Aiden admitted readily. There had never been the masculine rituals of keeping your thoughts and feelings hidden between them. They were practically brothers, had been since kindergarten, so if there was anyone Nick could readily go to with his problems and issues, it was Aiden.

"This just… feels so wrong… None of this should be happening, we're just civilians." Nick shook his head again, sinking his teeth into the bar that he had opened. It was tasteless, that was the norm for these prepackaged meals, but it would do the job until they could find something better.

"You want to go let the Reapers know that?" Aura's voice came up next to him, her tone equally quiet so not to disturb the others at the top of the stairs while they rallied themselves for the next move. She had a fist full of thermal clips and was stuffing them into her bag that Aiden held open for her. "Best I'm going to get for now, this thing doesn't exactly have pockets."

"You okay, Or?" Nick questioned before taking another bite from the bar.

"Truthfully?" She replied and both he and Aiden nodded their heads. "No, not really… I'm scared and I want Mom and Dad…"

Nick couldn't blame her. Beyond the world of video games and high school, they had never participated in anything remotely close to this kind of insanity. Hell, he was scared too, terrified if you really wanted to get picky about it. There wasn't supposed to be any such thing as Reapers and zombies, yet they were hovering over their heads, blowing up parts of the city and appearing on their streets. It was wrong on so many damn levels, he wasn't sure how to get a firm grip on it all.

"But, we have to hang tight for now. That's all we can do. Hang tight, get somewhere safe and hopefully we can get in touch with Mom and Dad. So, scared will just have to wait." And there she was, his unwavering, stronger than she knew Aura was back. She would do what she always did, take a deep breath and head straight back into the fray. In her mind, scared really would wait and he really admired that about her. She could definitely compartmentalize like a champ. And maybe that's what was going to keep them all sane for the next few hours.

)(

"Alright then, we hang tight. C'mon guys, let's get moving before anymore zombies decide it's too quiet down here." Aiden's jaw tightened slightly as he gave the order to move, leaning to the side to plant his shoulder firmly against his sister's. She looked up at him and he could see the gratitude in her identically colored eyes for a brief second before her "no nonsense" face settled over her features. Yep, scared would just have to wait until they were safe. He swung the strap of his backpack until the blue bag was settled against his shoulder blade, shrugging into the straps before adjusting the assault rifle in his hands.

"Okay folks, let's move out! Stay close, we're going to go quick!" Aura swung into command as soon as her backpack was in place and she checked the safety on her assault rifle on more time. She turned on her weird little boots and started off into the street. Nick's eyes met his own, determination solidifying in those icy blue depths before he moved to Aura's side. Aiden hung back for a second to ensure the rest of the group got into gear. Which, he had to give them credit, they did rather quickly. He wasn't sure if it was fear of being left behind or the want to get away from this place that caused the upswing in movement, but they did get together with alacrity.

Coming around the corner to join his sister and best friend, Aiden sucked wind at the sight of the devastation around him. The sheer magnitude of the chaos the Reapers caused was disturbingly evident. Buildings had been blown out, some of which were still on fire and burning in the distance. The streets were littered with chunks of rock and burned out hunks that were cars before they had crashed into walls, each other and falling buildings. The acrid scent of smoke stung his nostrils as they passed their third flaming wreckage and he blinked rapidly as the sharp stings brought burning tears to his eyes. He felt… horrified… How could this happen? How could there have been no warning? How could anything have gotten past their defenses?

But now, he realized, wasn't the time for hows or whys. Right now, he had to focus. He had to keep his calm because panicking would only get them killed, so said his video game rules. However, that tightly controlled stoicism was tested moments later when Aura, a few steps ahead of him and to his left, suddenly veered to her right and crossed his path. She clambered over a slide of rubble and paused next to the sprawled frame of a man. Aiden forced himself not to look as she bent down and slowly pressed her white fingers to his throat. Forcing his gaze onto the back of her head, his heart sunk as she lowered her chin briefly and then stood up to return to the group.

"Keep moving everyone." He called back quietly to the rest of their party and they continued their press through the desolation.

"The first explosions happened less than thirty minutes ago and there's this much destruction. Thoughts?" He heard Nick ask quietly to Aura as they veered around the top three floors of an apartment building, laying on its side opposite the side of the street it came from.

"None that I want to voice out loud. Let's just hope Mom and Dad got out okay. How far out are we?" He heard her murmured response as he raised his assault rifle and turned a corner abruptly, leading with the rifle as he remembered they did in Code of Honor. Movement at the far end of the street caused him to jerk back, slamming his hand into Aura's chest to push her backwards. The rush of movement sent Nick skittering back as well, that alerting the rest of their group to press against the wall and not advance.

"You have the best eyes." He whispered to the girl next to him and she shimmied past him, letting him slide into her vacant spot along the wall. He watched her take a deep breath before sticking her head around the corner for a split second and then jerk back.

"Bunch of them, twenty or more, two blocks down and facing away, possibly advancing south. If we go in twos and threes with a delay, we might not get noticed." She whispered.

"Station's four or five doors down on the next street." Nick whispered and glanced back at the little girl who was clutching the leg of an older child.

"Got it, I'll go first. Send a group in fifteen." Aiden decided, looking between his two companions and they nodded in agreement. "And we need to talk hand signals or something if we're going to keep this up. This is taking forever."

"Just go!" Aura hissed in exasperation. Shooting her his best roguish grin, Aiden ducked his head and pushed off the wall. Please, don't let me fall on my face and ruin the whole thing… He took a deep breath, dug his toes deeper into his remarkably uncomfortable Jedi boots and took off at a dead sprint. The crossing took no more than a few seconds but it felt like at least a year had passed before he cleared the sidewalk on the opposite side and was covered behind the wall. He pressed his back up against it hard and waved at Aura.

He watched carefully as Nick and her turned to the people behind them and set up a launch order as fast as they could. He peeked down the street once to make sure all was still going unnoticed. Then the process started. The first group, ones that would be the slowest, was sent across first. Small children were carried, the older ones scrambling to keep pace with longer legged adults. Then, faster runners were sent across and he was quick to pull them into cover to ensure their stealth.

Finally, Nick and Aura joined them and he felt awash in a sense of relief and positivity. Maybe this was plausible; maybe they could really do this. Maybe they had a fighting chance after all and they could really make it through. If they could just stay low and move fast, they could get around this corner to the police station and the hardest part would be over. The people who knew what they were doing and what was going on would protect them. They were going to be okay.

And then, they rounded the corner with less fear than they should have and he realized just how wrong he could be.

* * *

The DreamWeaver hopes that this part of a dream has pleased you, dear Reader, and, if it has, perhaps you will honor the DreamWeaver with a review.

May your dreams guide you on the pathway to the joys of tomorrow.


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